After the tragic events of September 11, Colette and her husband Lee decided to leave their home in Atlanta and move closer to their family in Birmingham, Alabama. They found a 30-year-old fixer-upper right across the street from Colette's parents and settled in. Soon after, they began the extensive renovation process.

"We planned on doing a lot of the work ourselves, but there were so many costs we didn't foresee," says Colette. "We didn't expect to have to rewire the electrical system, change the plumbing, and move heating vents."

Colette and Lee's budget dried up before they could replace the kitchen they had gutted. All they had left was a bare wall and some dangling wires. For more than a year, Colette has been traipsing across the street to prepare meals in her parents' kitchen. After hearing about Colette's desperate conditions, The Oprah Show and O at Home sent Nate down south to investigate.